Open AccessSnapshots of mammary gland interstitial cells: methylene‐blue vital staining and c‐kit immunopositivity
Author(s) -
Popescu L. M.,
Andrei F.,
Hinescu M. E.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of cellular and molecular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.44
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1582-4934
pISSN - 1582-1838
DOI - 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2005.tb00375.x
Subject(s) - methylene blue , staining , mammary gland , immunohistochemistry , pathology , chemistry , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , biochemistry , cancer , photocatalysis , breast cancer , catalysis
We show here that methylene‐blue supravital staining of specimens from normal mammary‐gland reveals (selectively) interstitial (stromal) cells, with 2–3 long (20–80 μm), thin, moniliform processes. Such cells appear c‐kit/CD117 positive, either by immunohistochemistry (IHC) or immunofluorescence (IF). Since these features (affinity for methylene blue, c‐kit positivity, and characteristic processes) define archetypal interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in light microscopy, our results suggest the existence of Cajal‐like cells in the interstitium of human normal mammary gland.